Transportation devices in the sense of the invention, which may also be referred to as mobility devices, are escalators and moving walks with a plurality of tread units, steps, or moving-walk pallets, respectively, which are joined to form an endless transporter. Users of the transportation device stand on the step surfaces of the steps or pallets or thread units.
Depending on the embodiment, there is a gap or air gap between the steps (or pallets) and a vertical area of the skirt panels on both sides of the transportation device. To prevent wedging in this gap or air gap, and/or penetration of objects, use is normally made of skirt brushes.
From patent document U.S. Pat. No. 6,131,719 a safety device has become known that prevents wedging between a step band that consist of individual steps and the skirt panels. The safety apparatus is conceived as a deflector consists of a large support section and various brush elements. The large support section is arranged on the balustrade skirt has, on the step side, a profiled opening, into which opening brush elements can be inserted. A brush element consists of a brush body that holds the brushes. The brush body is inserted from the front (from the step side) into the profiled opening of the large, robust support section. After installing of the brush element, a wedge element is pushed in from a support section end between the upper walls of the large support section and the brush body, the wedge element holding the brush body with a rib.
Further transportation devices with corresponding skirt brushes are known from patent documents EP 1 170 244, EP 1 262 441, EP 1 188 708, and DE 199 17 796, to cite some examples.
In what follows, EP 1 262 441 is taken as the prior state of the art. In that patent document, a deflector apparatus is described that is arranged on a vertical area of the balustrade skirt and comprises a deflector section and a brush unit. When being installed, the brush unit is inserted sideways into the massive, robust, large-area deflector section.
Disadvantageous in said safety devices is that their installation is elaborate and time-intensive. Other solutions are characterized as being easier to install. Disadvanageous here, however, is that the ease of installation is obtained at the cost of a not so robust and stable seating of the safety device.